Crisis Into Motion
Campaign for the Wicked "Onī-chan!" A young girl with pale-blonde hair and rather extravagant clothing was clinging to the back of an older man, a bishōnen who could be mistaken for a girl from a distance, however, the term "Onī-chan" informed anyone that this was indeed a male. "Onī-chan, let's play a game!" The man raised his hand as he generated a white light which basked the area in its warmth. "Hm? Whaddya mean; a game? Naturally, nothing morbid. Like killin' people. That ain't fun nowadays." "Tag!" The girl grinned. "I want you to play tag with me!" She seemed to be really happy to this man, clinging to him and covering his eyes. Apparently, she had no idea how tag worked. The man sighed. "...Wait, what?" He really, had no idea how to play games. It was a result of his upbringing- being sheltered for most of his life, being unable to actually enjoy himself. "...Tag is?" The moment he mentioned it, all sorts of data flowed into his brain. "Oh, got it. He placed the girl on her own two feet, and suddenly dissapeared, echoing, ,"You've gotta try and find me." "Onī-chan!" The child huffed. "That's hide-and-seek!" She seemed a bit miffed, but she decided she would go around and try to find him anyway, since she'd gotten him to play. "Onīīīī-chan!" She called out as she started to check places like under rocks and such; places no human could actually hide. The man himself was actually...hiding behind a tree. No fancy tricks, no nothing. It wouldn't be fair on such a small child. Well, not behind a tree, but rather, in the branches- simply waiting for her to find her. "Ah, kids. I could never understand 'em, but they're always full of energy." "Onī-chan?" The girl looked around the edge of a tree. "Onī-chan is too good at hiding..." She looked like she was about to frown for a minute, and then saw something white, which attracted her attention. "Ooooh, bunny!" She ran off after the rabbit which was darting away like it's life depended on it. The man looked down; chuckling harmlessly. "I don't think she can focus on more than one thing...Maybe I should just tell her I'm here..." He cursed the fact that she reminded him of somebody who had the attention span of a squirrel on coffee. The girl eventually just saw down, sighing. Her eyes, however, were alight with curiosity as she looked around the forest. Had she completely forgotten that she was playing a game? "Maybe if I take too long, Onī-chan will come find me instead." No. No she had not. The man sighed, "Dammit, stop pulling that face. It makes me want to punt a cat." He made a distinct rustling sound from the tree which he was sitting in- audible enough for her to hear him. "Ah!" She turned, smiling brightly. "I heard rustling! I bet it's a Yiftha!" Whatever the girl had heard, her thoughts were far removed from her caretaker resting in the trees, and yet she started to climb it anyway. "I'm gonna get it!" The man grumbled, "The hell is a Yiftha? Well, yiff means....actually let's not go there." He merely sat in place, waiting for the girl to find her. As the girl reached the branches, she grinned. "Onī-chan! I found you!" She pointed at him excitedly. "You're bad at this game." The man chuckled, "Ah, I guess I am. I was never good at these games, anyway." Truth be told, he had never played games a child- and what he did just then, was based upon information crammed into his head a few moments before. She grinned. "So what do we now know, Onī-chan?" The man patted the spot next to him, telling her, "C'mon, sit up here. The view is just amazing." Honestly, in these past seven years, he didn't even think about doing anything that would raise suspicion from the point of view of the Magic Council- more so just enjoying what he had at the moment. "You ever think, that sometimes life's a lot bigger than what it seems? Like we're one tiny dot on the passage of history." "Onī-chan..." The girl sat on the branch next to the man, resting her head on his shoulder. "Can you make me a lot bigger hamburger?" Her obliviousness could be explained away by her young age at least. The man sighed. "...Ah, kids. So oblivious. Or is that called innocence. I dunno." Talking to himself again. Certainly, insanity wasn't so nice to him. "But yeah, damn I'm hungry now. Wanna go get something to eat?" "Yeah!" She grinned. "Can we go back home though? The place with all the people? Is there food there?" Blinking momentarily, the man scratched his head. "...uh, you mean the guild? Yeah. Surprised that nobody's gone insane and tried to take control of the guild from me yet. Of course, they still have no idea what they're dealing with..." ---- "Open, Gate to the White Sun." Kagemusha swiped his index and middle finger along the air, opening a portal where Vivian Starrkewolfe, kidnapped member of the Akatsuki, exited, her face as blank as it had been when she was captured. A young girl with hair as equally white as Vivian was sitting in the corner, yawning. "Why are you summoning someone like her now, Kagemusha? There's nothing to fight right now, our Guild Master has been very lax these past seven years." "I'm aware of that." Kagemusha replied airily. "However, every collection require maintenance, you know that. I simply need to check the status of this doll. Seven years under my possession were not wasted; she is quite possibly my strongest available puppet." "You creep me out." The girl's voice was sharp with disgust. The man, and his companion appeared via warp-gate; immediately noticing Kagemusha; his expression sharpened as he actually glared at his subordinate. It was very, very clear that something was troubling him about the masked man's appearance- though naturally, to avoid any suspicion, he'd just shelve it. "...Aha. Did you manage to retrieve anything from Bevelle's mansion while I was gone?" "Nothing of note." Kagemusha seemed to be scanning Vivian right now, his hand placed over her forehead, a magic circle spinning just between his hand and the girl's head. "The mansion itself seems to be guarded by a barrier that repels anyone with negative intentions." He stopped scanning Vivian, and shook up his sleeve to revealed a healing, but heavily burned, left arm. "Naturally, someone like me and this girl..." He jerked his head at the white haired child sitting in the corner. "...aren't going to even get close." Crux put his hand on his hip- he was always so ridiculously feminine. And yet, his darkest secret was that he was not gay. At all. "....Hmm, something tells me otherwise. Bah, either way, I'll probably go there soon. It seems that everyone here 'cept me actually does work around here...Ah well, can't be helped. Buncha useless idiots." "I wouldn't speak like that to your own subordinates." Kagemusha's voice was one of warning. "You would be surprised who snaps back in ways you wouldn't expect, Crux." Crux growled at this. "I'd watch your tone. You do realize how you're talking to, right? I could destroy you with a single attack. Besides, high-strung people like you...eh, you can never get a joke. Stay classy Kagey, you know I love ya." He immediately relaxed; before sighing. "I wish people could tell the difference between joking and not." "I've never been good at reading people." Kagemusha replied darkly. "Why else would I surround myself with a collection of dolls, Crux?" Crux muttered something along the lines of "probably because the hardest part of eating vegetables for you is the chair" so softly that it was barely audible. "Anyway, you need to relax, man. Just take some time out. Maybe if you tried meditation or maybe found yourself a girl, you might get a handle on all your pent-up anger, pal." "Children, be quiet." The white-haired girl stood up. "All your arguing is irritating me. Besides..." She jerked her head at the blonde child. "Whose the shrimp?" Crux pointed to the young girl; snarking, "Well, she's taller than you." Or maybe he couldn't measure. "Anyway, she's Giselle..." he paused; choking slightly on her name. "Anyway, I saved her from the Magic Council a few years back. So relax, she's of no harm." "I want to eat!" She grinned, her intentions nothing more than childish. "I never would have pegged you for a parent, Crux-san." A man with scaly skin and a maroon cloak stepped out of the shadows followed by a young woman in white robes. Anguis Bane and Iris Tsubaki had entered the scene. "The girl seems energetic." Crux waved his hand in a faux-friendly tone. "Oh, if it isn't my old friend Anguis...and Tsubaki." He avoided calling the second Iris "Iris" due to well, obviously, there was another Iris. One could say she was a bit nuts. And despite being on opposing sides, he knew the squirrel Iris better than the snakey Iris. "...Hehe, guess I am. Ironic, huh? Having rare contact with a parental figure, and look at me now." "Brushing over that, I suppose the question is what do we do." Anguis took a seat in a char, and seemed relaxed. "Our guild is gathering again for the first time since that incident five years ago. And I've heard, Crux-san, that the Akatsuki guild is gathering as well, for the first time in seven years since our encounter with them." Crux cracked his knuckles. "Ah, five years ago. I really didn't want to see that face again...Like a nightmare, it's all returned to me. Everything from twenty years ago, the Magic Council, everything has returned. It's a shame really. None of my old buddies are around to see my now..." a shadow loomed over his expression. "...Then again...Maybe they wouldn't be too happy..." Kagemusha let out a mirthless laugh from behind his mask. "Happiness is a false concept to begin with. Within a world like this, it cannot exist for long. Happiness, no matter how blissful, is fleeting." Looked like his switch had been flipped. Crux sighed, scratching his head in mild annoyance. "To each his own, I say. We've all got our own opinions and all that jazz, and I'll leave you to yours. Anyway, since you people failed me on this one, I'll be investigating in a few days." "No!" Giselle clung to Crux. "Onī-chan promised to play with me! And make me dinner! We have games to play, Onī-chan! And then we have to run from the Zak'thunctu!" "...This is what I have to put up with every day. At least it's not as bad as No-Soul McLoser and that squirrel on meth." Crux was happy to admit that monitoring a regular child wasn't as bad as monitoring a grown-up one. "If you can't do it, then who?" Anguis asked curiously. "I could always give it a try, myself." Iris suggested calmly. "If there is an infiltration mission you need, I think my skills or my Master's skills would be ideal, am I wrong, Crux-sama?" Crux sharply responded, "Cut the -sama. It's fine, I've told you all you can just relax with me. I'm not your master, I'm your friend. ...No matter how many times I say that nobody listens. But yes, Tsubaki, there's something I want you to do for me. Infiltrate the Magic Council. I want to know what that witch is up to." "Of course." Iris' eyes glinted. "The task will be very simple." "Crux-san, even with our attentions focused on the council, what do we do about the Akatsuki." Anguis' attentions were lying with what he saw as the primary threat. As long as the Dragon Slayer remains in our possession, they will, at some point, confront us once more." Crux stretched his arms. "Eh, leave 'em be. For once, we have a common enemy. But..." he thought about his words for a moment. "...Hmm, I thought about this while seven years passed. Soon, LaHote's final showdown with yours truly will come to pass. I can feel it. So, Itsuka." He turned to the girl with hair as white as snow. "I've got a big favour to ask you. Do you think that you can, infiltrate Akatsuki for me? Just for a little bit. If it gets problematic, just say the word, I'll bail you out. I need you to dig up some info on LaHote." "That will be easy enough to do." Itsuka grinned, brushing her white hair out of her eyes. "I'll have what you need before you can shampoo that hair of yours." Crux hissed like a snake at Itsuka's words, before returning to his usual attitude. "...Then I'm glad I can count on you. Cut down on the snark though; it's not very nice." ...What. Coming from the master of a Dark Guild... "Anyway, you'll do your part; I'll do mine." The two girls nodded and immediately departed. Kagemusha also seemed to leave the area, but he was headed deeper into the hideout. "Where are you going?" Anguis' curiosity had gotten the best of him. "To prepare, of course." Kagemusha shrugged as if it were obvious. "If the Akatsuki come, I will be prepared to strike them down with my full force. Anguis, join me. We need to make some alterations to Vivian." "Easy enough." Anguis stood up. "Oh, by the way, Crux-san. I think Esmeralda is nearly done with what you asked for. Everything should be falling into place soon." Crux's eyes sharpened as Kagemusha mentioned altercations to Vivian. "...I see. Well...good luck with that, I suppose." He himself was planning on doing something. Something drastic. Crux Kouga was going to stop this, no matter what. Gritting his teeth, Crux snarled to himself, "...I'm going to end this. After all she's been through, this is too much." Other Matters Back at the Magic Council, Alexis marched back and forth- looking over the blueprints for her latest doomsday device. "Those Akatsuki fools have been off the radar for quite some time. I think it's time to shake things up a bit, don't you think, Zinzolin?" Whether it had been magic, or just some very strange way Zinzolin had grown, he had grown into someone who looked more feminine than male. Long blonde hair, slim figure, soft face, the beauty mark still apparent...but questions were best left unanswered as he cast his superior a look. "Shake things up? How so?" Alexis clasped her hands. "Have you not been paying attention lately? Look at the damn blueprints. We are going to build..." She dramatically paused. "A bigger, stronger Etherion! We'll wipe out the guilds that oppose us, one continent at a time!" "Isn't that an insult to Dosaman?" Zinzolin asked, apparently a bit stung. "I mean, the creation was his, and you're going to alter it to your own tastes?" "Bah, humbug. Don't be hating on my ideas, Zinny. His Etherion can wipe out a tower. My Highlander, will be able to wipe out continents. Besides, a magical satellite ray isn't exactly original, so he can't claim he created it first." Alexis crossed her arms, restraining herself from pulling a face at her subordinate. "He did perfect the idea." Zinzolin replied, a tad huffily. "And, while that seems like a decent idea, expanding on the current Etherion takes time. And you already know the Akatsuki is back. How will you counter that, Alexis?" Alexis simply replied, "Oh, that. While we wait for Highlander to be constructed-" she glared at Zinzolin, as if pressuring him to hurry up, "I've got a little surprise in store. We've finally created clones that don't take the form of little girls! They're dragons!" "I'm working on it." Zinzolin sighed, his lip put out in a very pouty manner. "I only just became the head of the technology development department anyway, you need to cut me a break." He sighed. "Your father always told you to stop being so hot-headed. Succeeding Mosag doesn't mean barking orders at people who have to keep their pace, Alexis." Ignoring this, Alexis offhandedly mentioned, "Silence, you fool. I am your superior, and as such you will treat me with respect and follow my every word. Now whatever time you spend trying to annoy me is precious time wasted on Highlander." "Attitude, Alexis." Zinzolin seemed a tad irritated. "I follow your orders, of course, but I prefer a pleasant working environment. I already have my own subordinates working on Highlander, snapping at me is just making a fool of yourself." Alexis's magical aura surged in a subtle manner- practically telling him 'shut your damn mouth or else I'll blast you from orbit'. Naturally her solution to everything was to blast it from orbit but in this case, it was more of a personal threat,nothing that would actually result in anyone else getting reduced to a charred husk. "Just shut up and go make the damn Highlander, you're getting on my nerves." "I told you, I have my own subordinates working on it." Zinzolin replied calmly, though the magical pressure did put him off slightly. "Stop misbehaving like that. You can't deny you'd rather keep me around than send me away, at this point I'm probably the only person in the entire council besides your father you can have a normal conversation with." He had a point. Alexis immediately pointed out, "Oh, you don't know about this, but there are people above mere Rune Knights- people with a similar mind to me. You just haven't met them yet. But yes, I do enjoy your company when you do what I say. If I weren't in a hurry, I'd be something resembling happy to have a regular conversation with you. Again, time is ticking, girly-boy's dark guild and ginger's guild are rising, we don't have time, so we need to nuke them from orbit." "Yeah yeah yeah..." Zinzolin sighed, straightening his coat. He cast a look out the window. "So...you know Akatsuki is coming here. They won't let that-" he jerked his head towards Gaikou "-stay here with us without coming back to try and get her." Alexis clasped her hands deviously. "Oh, I have plans for her. Many, many plans. You have no reason to be alarmed- this will all go so well you'll be surprised." Zinzolin sighed. "This entire conversation has gotten us nowhere." He rubbed the back of his head, giving up. "Oh well...I suppose we'll just see what happens next...." He opened the screen of his Archive Magic. "What will you do now...dear former Guild Master?" END